They're an accident waiting to happen. Writer/director Scott Ziehl's kinetic first feature follows a group of Los Angeles paramedics as on the edge as the patients they try to save. When Tom Meyer (Jason London) escapes his dreary small-town life for a job in L.A. as a paramedic, he is teamed up with star ambulance driver Jimmy (Todd Field). Jimmy teaches Tom the tricks of the trade, including showing favoritism to the police, using the equipment in unorthodox ways and scoring freebies from drug dealers. Under Jimmy's tutelage, Tom gradually loses himself in the pressure-cooker lifestyle of danger, violence, hard drugs, casual sex and petty crime.

E
ver wondered what paramedics do in their spare time? Do they really take the ambulance back to the garage, or wander the streets, waiting for something to go wrong? Or do they truly exist as filmmaker Scott Ziehl portrays his duo in Broken Vessles?

The film stars Jason London [Dazed and Confused] and Todd Field [Eyes Wide Shut] as an unlikely pair of paramedics sent out onto the mean streets of California to do good. London’s character (Tom) seems perfectly tuned to performing that role. Field (Jimmy) on the other hand….

Tom encounters a world of corruption and substance abuse that he simply could not have possible comprehended. Almost immediately, Jimmy is offering his partner a beer while on duty. This slowly progresses along a long line of drugs and women, with flashbacks to Tom’s past, a life of drinking and reckless driving which resulted in the deaths of a couple innocents driving a cart.

Once again, Unapix has done a fantastic job of packaging an entertaining film. The menus were again spectacular, but at several areas were lacking simple items such as a “Return To Menu” button in the Special Features menu.

The disc lacked Special Features, but is expected seeing as Broken Vessles is an independent film, without big studio dollars to produce a disc with an extensive range of features or a Dolby enhanced audio track for that matter. The disc features a “Digitally Enhanced Stereo Sound” track (meaning DD 2.0) which is surprisingly realistic and a great treat for those who don’t have an extensive home theatre setup.

Overall, the film is simply captivating. I did not lose interest for a second and frequently found myself watching sequences over and over again just to get a better grasp at them. This was not because they lacked clarity, but because I simply was in awe at what London and Field managed to do in the roles of two paramedics. Despite being an independent film, the image quality is superb and the story is simply too captivating to ignore. Ziehl has done a fantastic job and the experience is further enhanced with Unapix packaging his work onto a fantastic disc. Of course, this is simply a must for anyone who has ever thought of being a paramedic or anyone who is searching for another great film that’s been lost amongst the mix. Then again - the film makes good for anyone who swallows jewelry when they go for rides in an ambulance! Yeah, on that point, you’ll have to see the movie...